Checking handload accuracy

[Glockadopoulos]

I do all my long range load development at 200 yards with 308. You could definitely work up ladders and identify accuracy nodes (velocity sweet spots your barrel likes). Half MOA for a 30 cal bullet at that range would be one hole. Where will you eventually do long range shooting? That’d be a good place to fine tune the loads you’ve worked up with your chronograph.

 

[1006]

I am no expert, just a hack who enjoys taking ARs and hunting guns to a 600 yard range in Talladega, AL or a 800 yard range near Athens, Ga.

Some loads and some guns may be just average at 100 yards (1.0moa) and fantastic at 600 yards (2.0moa). Others may look great a 100 (.5moa) and fall apart at 600 (4.0moa). I have an AR that really shines at 600, but is frustrating at 100. My bolt guns shoot factory ammo great at 100, but need extra power to keep the group together at more than 100 yards.

These extreams are not as likely to happen if you use and stay close to the load data of other successful shooters.

I think you could do all the chrono work and check for signs of excess pressure at the short range, but I would make trip to a longer range for the final decision. There are other things that may discovered: scope issues, wind drift, shooter comfort, ect.

 

[pipewrench]

Thanks for all the input guys.

Currently my go to place looks like Talladega. Its about 1.5 hours from me.

Sounds like the consensus is the same as where my brain was leaning.

There's no linear relationship guaranteed of group size between ranges. I'll just try to weed out blatantly obvious losers up close and check the rest at 600 yards.

 

[Control for Smilers]

look for velocity flat spots on your chronograph. this is a "kind" of ladder test in itself. shoot the promising load at distance.

 

[pipewrench]

What exactly is a velocity flat spot?

 

[Bear44]

Thanks for all the input guys.

Currently my go to place looks like Talladega. Its about 1.5 hours from me.

Sounds like the consensus is the same as where my brain was leaning.

There's no linear relationship guaranteed of group size between ranges. I'll just try to weed out blatantly obvious losers up close and check the rest at 600 yards.

Not really. You can still get a pretty good idea of accuracy at 65 yards. You just need to look at MOA and translate what that means. At 65 yards 1 MOA is 0.65 inches center to center. Half MOA is half that.

There are incidents where you will get radically different accuracy at longer ranges, but most of the time that's not the case once you take into account the larger effect external elements have on accuracy at greater range. If I'm shooting a rifle that gives me half minute groups at 100 yards (or 65), I would expect close to half minute groups at 600 yards if it was a calm day.

The notable exceptions to that would be a bullet that drops to subsonic velocity between 100 and 600 yards causing a loss of accuracy or a very heavy bullet that does not completely stabilized by the time it gets to 100 yards, but is completely stable at 600 yards causing increased relative accuracy. Another factor is variation in muzzle velocity. What would be minor vertical stringing (perhaps completely unnoticeable) at shorter distances becomes more exaggerated the longer the distance.

The only real issue with determining general accuracy at 65 yards instead of 100 yards is that the measurements of group size are more susceptible to mistakes because the margin for error is greater due to the smaller expected group size.